Previews

LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy

Episode V's final chapter backs up the timeline a bit as we follow Han and Leia's adventure in Cloud City. The stage begins with Han being frozen in carbonite and carried off by the bounty hunter Boba Fett. Now, Leia, Chewbacca and Lando must chase after him in an attempt to save their friend.

As you make your way through the corridors of Cloud City, you'll have to fight stormtroopers and dodge the fleeing citizens. Since this is your first chance to play as Star Wars' resident ladies man, Lando Calrissian, I suggest you take full advantage of it. In addition to his blaster, Lando has some smooth kung-fu moves for close combat.

Since the game follows the plot of the movie, Boba Fett eventually escapes with the frozen Han. After that, you must lead the crew back to the Millennium Falcon so that they can escape the Imperial threat.

Make Your Own Jedi

In addition to the Empire goodness, we also got to play around with the game's character creator. This extremely silly mode lets you answer that long debated question: What would happen if Ponda Baba donned Princess Leia's metal bikini from Return of the Jedi, picked up a lightsaber, and fought Darth Vader in Cloud City?

Once that issue is put to rest, you can go about creating even more absurd scenarios. By mixing and matching various body parts, you can create and save two different characters to play as during the game's Free Play stages. With the ability to change the hat/helmet, head, body, arms, hands, waist, legs, cape and weapon, there are loads of different characters to design. The character's abilities depend on what weapon you give him or her (or it). Give them a lightsaber, and they'll have the ability to use the Force. Arm them with a blaster, and they'll also carry around a grappling hook.

Another new feature that LucasArts and Traveller's Tales has incorporated into the game is self-adjusting difficulty. This feature, which can be turned on and off, makes the game adapt to how well you're playing. So if you're doing extremely well in a level, you'll end up facing off against more enemies. If you're not doing so hot, the game eases up on you. This should prove especially helpful for younger gamers who might have otherwise found the game too challenging in later levels.

There are also new types of LEGO bricks to discover throughout each stage. Power Bricks open up new upgrades that you can purchase to make your characters stronger. Although more powerful blasters and lightsabers are valuable, you should really save your studs (the game's currency) to buy the Stud Multiplier. This goodie doubles the number of studs that you collect in each stage. Gold Bricks are earned by performing well throughout the game, and they're used to unlock such treats as extra levels.

We're now two-thirds through LEGO Star Wars II, and with all the extra stuff to unlock, it looks like it will easily top the original in terms of replay value. We'll have an in-depth look at the Return of the Jedi portion of the game in a couple weeks, followed shortly by a full review. Stay tuned.